Gutter hanger



Sept- 12, 1967 R. D. LANDls 3,341,158

GUTTER HANGER Filed Feb. 21, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l /zvvENroR 3, 1:1.?RoERTD LAND/5 R. D. .LANDls 3,341,158

Sept. 12, 1967 GUTTER HANGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 21, 1966/Nl/E/vroR ROBERT 0 LAND/s United States Patent fifice 3,34-1,l58Patented Sept. 12, 1967 3,341,158 GUTTER HANGER Robert D. Laudis, 501Thayer Ave., Ashtabula, Ohio 44004 Filed Feb. 21, 1966, ser. NO. 529,0382 Claims. (Cl. 248 48.2)

This invention relates to an improvement in the structure o-f hangersfor gutters.

Gutters, sometimes termed eaves trough, are applied to -buildings forthe purpose of collecting and carrying away roof water and debris to adownspout and thence to a sewer system. Normally the gutters arepermanently fastened to the building beneath the roof edge and intendedto remain for their useful life after which they are removed andreplaced with new ones. Certain problems are encountered in the originalplacement of the gutters and in their maintenance and repair While inuse. Furthermore, in certain climatic regions, where heavy icingconditions or heavy snow loads are encountered, it is advisable tosupport the gutter so that it is not damaged by these heavy loads andfurther so that it does not contribute to roof damage because of thebuild-up of ice or snow between the gutter and the shingles of the roof.

It is an object of this invention therefore to provide a hangermechanism that permits rela-tively simple original installation of aremovable gutter system, by either the home owner or the artisans of thetrade. A further object consists in providing a means by which thegutter can be readily dismounted for the purpose of taking maintenancemeasures including painting of the gutter and of the building areaagainst which the gutter is normally mounted. To accomplish this latterobject the invention comprehends a form of device that can :berepeatedly mounted and dismounted without adverse effects on thefunction of the device and which will assure a continuing factor ofsafety in the extended use of the equipment.

It is a further and important object of the invention to provide ahanger means that will furnish a yieldable support for the guttersystem. That is to say, the invention is designed to permit the accurateoriginal placement of the gutter which insures proper drainage, andthereafter operates to permit temporary deviation or yielding of thegutter from its original position in order to compensate for extremelyheavy ice-loads and to avoid the build-up of excessive forces orpressures between the gutter and the roof and shingles. These fo-rceshave been known to displace shingles or to throw the gutter systempermanently out of line with resultant interference With properdrainage.

More specifically, the present invention contemplates the use of aspringloaded Suspension means by which the gutter is permitted to yieldagainst heavy loads and then, after the origin or cause of the load hasdisappeared, to return to normal alignment.

A further object of the invention contemplates an arrangement of partsfor a demountable gutter which assures the accurate and safe support ofthe gutter so that it will not be dislodged from its support on thebuilding by either accidental means or by the pressure of forcesdescribed aforesaid in connection with ice and snow loads.

I-t is a further object of the invention to provide a suspension meansfor a gutter or eaves trough device by which the gutter is supported ina position away from the facia strip of the -building to therebyminimize the tendency of corrosion of the gutter to s-tain the side ofthe 'building along which it is mounted. In addition the form ofSuspension described herein is intended to permit adequate ventilationbehind the gutter and under the eaves,

thereby avo1d1lng deterioration of the bullding in that 7 area.

Finally a further object of the invention is to provide a means ofSuspension that is relatively simple and foolproof in installation anduse and one which is hidden from view so as to present `no unsightlystructural members along the gutter line.

Other advantages and objects of the invention will appear in thefollowing description of a preferred and practical embodiment of theinvention.

The drawings which accompany and form part of this specificationdisclose a preferred embodiment of the invention in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing part of a house or 'building andasection of gutter supported thereon by means of a gutter hangerassembly disclosed in accordance with the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1. Thisfigure also illustrates diagrammatically the manner in which the guttersystem yields under load.

FIGURE 3 is an exploded view illustrating pertinent parts inperspective.

FIGURE 4 is a detail front elevational view of the mounting plate ofthis invention.

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the mounting plate of FIG. 5.

FIGURE 6 is a view of the brace member in rear elevation, and

FIGURE 7 is a side elevational view of the brace member of thisinvention.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, a conventional gutter 1 isdisclosed having a rear wall 2 a bottom wall 3 and a contoured frontwall 4. Although the invention is disclosed with reference to a moldedgutter, the invention is equally applicable to the conventionalhalf-round gutter configuration, or any other conventional form.Referring partcularly to FIG. 1, -a section of the gutter 1 is seen tobe support by two identical hanger assemblies 9 that are mounted on thefacia board 5 of a building 6 having a roof 7 with an overhanging eavesportion 8 beneath which the gutter 1 is normally mounted. From FIG. 3 itwill be seen that 'the gutter hanger assembly is comprised essentiallyof three parts: A mounting plate 10, a brace or support member 20 and aresilient tie member 40.

The mounting plate 10 is in the form of a flat sheet metal part havingopenings 11 through which nails 11a are driven or screws are `turned tomount the plate against the facia board 5 or other appropriate part ofthe building. Normally these plates are mounted in a line along thefacia board 5 so that the line of support provides a slope sufficien-tto allow proper drainage along the gutter 1 under the eaves 8. Along the|bottom edge of the mounting plate 10 is a depending hook formation 12which extends downwardly and thence forwardly and upwardly (terminatingin an upper edge 15) to form a receiving support or pocket 13. Anopening 14 is provided in the bight portion of the hook for a purposethat Will shortly appear. The upper portion of the mounting plate 10 hasa tongue 16 struck from the plate that extends forwardly at 16 andterminates in an upwardly-turned hook portion 17. The vertical spacingbetween the edge 15 of the lower support 13 and the upper tongue 16 iscarefully chosen for a purpose that will be apparent as the descriptionproceeds.

Referring to FIGS'. 3 and 7, the brace member 20, also of sheet metalmaterial, is designed to fit over and be attached to the upper rear edgeof the rear gutter wall 2 and has a forwardly extending front portion21, the front end of which terminates at, and is attached to, the upperfront wall 4 of the gutter; a rearward portion of this brace 20 is inthe form of a supporting member 22 that extends downwardly behind thegutter wall 2, generally parallel therewith, and terminates in an offsetportion 35 that is designed to be removably received in and supported bythe aforesaid pocket 13. Brace member 20 has in intermediate or bightportion 23 (connecting the brace and support portions) that extends overthe upper edge of the rear wall 2 of the gutter and is riveted theretoby means of conventional rivets or bolts indicated at 24 (FIG. `2). Thefront portion 21 of the brace member 20 terminates at its forward end invan upturned flange 25 that is provided with an opening 26 to registerwith a corresponding opening 27 in the front wall of the gutter, and isattached to said gutter by means of a rivet 28 or the like. Tongue 29 isstruck upwardly from the front portion of the brace member in the reachsection 21 to provide a hook for a purpose that will shortly appear. Therearward portion 22 of the brace 20 runs down and closely parallel tothe back face of the gutter rear wall 2 for a short distance and then isinterrupted 'by a rearwardly extending joggle or offset 30 (FIG. 7);then this offset portion 35 continues downwardly at an angle away fromthe wall 2, terminating in 'a tongue 31. This tongue 31 is of such shapeand dimension as to be receivable in the omn- -ing 14 of the support 13.The bight portion 23 extends for a short distance upwardly from the rearend of the front reach portion 21 and then folds back on itself toextend down behind the gutter wall 2 as described above. In theembodiment shown, the rear wall 4 of the gutter is clamped in the bightsection 23 and the assembly riveted or bolted together by a fastener 24passing through registering openings in the brace and gutter wall belowthe notch 32. This notch 32 is cut in the bight portion 23 and extendsdownwardly to terminate at a lower edge 33; a similar regstering notchis cut in the rear wall 4. The width of these notches are sufficient topermit cleanance for the mounting plate hook 17.

The dimensions of the foregoing parts, including the distance betweenthe bottom of the support 13 -and hook 16, 17 and the distance betweenthe tongue 31 at the lower edge 33 of notch '32, are so chosen thattongue 31 can be engaged in opening 14 of pocket 13 and then the portion22 of brace member 20 brought against the face of mounting plate 10. Inthis condition the tongue and hook portion 16, 17 will extend throughthe notch 32 with the under surface 15 of the hook 17 just clearing theedge 33 of notch 32, whereby the lower surface of hook 16, 17 preventsthe displacernent of the assembly 22 by direct upward movement. It willalso be noted that the front upstanding wall of the support 13terminating at edge 15 keeps the tongue 31 from becoming disengagedforwardly from the pocket 14 when the foregoing condition exists i.e.when part 22 lies against the face of the mounting bracket 10.

In the embodiment showing the resilient tie member 40 is comprised of aspring means having a connecting hook or loop at its rearward and alsoat its forward end designated, respectively, 41 and 42. Loop 42 ishooked over the tongue 29 in the brace member 21 and the rear loop 41 isengaged over the mounting plate hook 17. The length of the resilient tie40, as well as the span of the reach portion 21 of the brace isprimarily determined by the width of the gutter; in 'any event theresilient tie 40 is chosen of such length as to cause it to draw theassembly against the mounting plate 10 with a substantial force.

In employing this invention, the party installing the gutter systemfirst lays out the gutter line in the conventional manner by striking aline along the facia board beneath the edge of the eaves 8. In layingout this line, the necessary slope is provided to assure properdrainage. The mounting plates are then spotted along this line asdetermined by conditions; for example, the mounting plates 10 may besecured to the ends of the roof rafters in certain constructions, or asis more general, are spotted along the facia board at 30- to 36-inchintervals as illustrated in FIG. 1. The mounting plates 10 are securedby screws 11a or other fastening means which pass through theaccommodating openings 11 in the plate. Next the brace members 20 arespotted along the length of the gutter to correspond with the spacing ofthe mounting plates on the building. The gutters are drilled at the'appropriate points on the front and rear walls and the brace memberslare riveted at the rear and forward edges of the gutter 1 using rivetsor other fastening means as indicated at 24 and 28 of the drawings.Prior to assembly of the brace members 20 to the gutter 1, the upperedge of the rear wall of the gutter is cut out at appropr'iate places toprovide the not-ohes that register with the notch 32 in the bracemember.

After the mounting plates 10 are in place and the corresponding bracemembers 20 are attached, the gutter 1 is raised to a height that willpermit the tongues 31 to clear the support edges 15 and thence islowered to permit these tongues to enter the openings 14 in the pockets13. It will be seen that the offset 30 assists in enabling the operatorto insert the tongues 31 into openings 14. The height of the 'upstandingfront portion of the support 12 (which terminates at edge 15) issufificient to keep the support 35 from falling forward and disengagingthe opening in pocket 13. Thus the gutter assembly is self supporting atthis stage of the installation procedure. The operator then proceeds toinstall the spring members 40. He does this by engaging the forward loop42 of each spring member 40 over tongue 29 in the corresponding bracemember and stretching the spring to engage rear loop 41 over the hook 17on the correspond'ing mounting plate. When this has been 'accornplishedthe gutter and brace assembly is held with a tensional force againsteach of the mounting plates 10. Also the gutter is supported verticallyby the downwardly extending portion 35 and tongue 31 of the bracemembers 20 as they seat in the support or pocket 13. It will also benoted that 'when the parts are assembled, the mounting plate hooks 17extend through the slots 32 in the bight portion 23 and projectforwardly from this bight portion so that the loop 41 of the springmember 40 can readily be engaged over said hooks. Once loop 41 is placedaround the hook 17 it acts as a lock to prevent the bight portion 23from passing forwardly over the end of the hook. By the same token,tongue 31 is prevented from disengaging from the mounting plate opening14 so that the lower end 35 of the brace member 20 vis maintained in andengagement with the mounting plate 10 and thereby the gutter assembly issafely and securely supported. Whereas the joggle 30 in the dependingportion 22 facilitates the engagement of tongue 31 into the opening 14of the mounting plate support 1'3, there is a further advantage inspacing the offset portion 35 'away from the rear wall of the gutter inthat it also serves to space said gutter wall away from the wall of thebuilding. When the springs 40 are put in place they draw the bracemembers 20 against the mounting plates 10 at the top of the assembly andthe gutter is held in this position under normal Operating conditions.Through proper choice of length for the mounting plate hook 17 there isprovided a clearance between the front face of the bight portion 23 andrear extremity of the loop 41 when the gutter is in the aforesaidposition, as will be seen in FIG. 2. In the construction shown, thegutter assembly is able to rotate clockwise a limited amount by pivotingin the pocket 13; this in effect causes the gutter 1 to tip down andaway from the eaves 8. The amount of this clockwise rotation isdetermined by the space between the front face of the bight portion 23and the loop 41. Normally this is of order of magnitude of 1A: to 1/2inch. Thus if the gutter is subjected to a very heavy load of ice orsnow it is able to yield downwardly and pivot forwardly (as shown indotted lines in FIG. 2) until finally it moves to its furtherestclockwise rotational position limited by the contact of the front faceof the bight 23 with loop 41. Even in this depressed position there isno possibility of loss of support since the upwardly hooked portion 15holds the tongue 31 in place and loop 41 holds bight 23 on the hook 17.After the heavy overload is reduced-for example by the melting of theice or heavy snow loadthe gutter returns to its original position byvirtue of the spring action.

It will thus be seen that this invention has provided a novel means forrelieving excessive load on the gutter by permitting the same to yieldagainst forces that sometimes build up between the gutter and the roof.By this relief action lifting the roof shingles and/or deformation ofthe gutter proper is avoided.

It will 'also be seen that the subject construction has a furtheradvantage that allows the gutters to be repeatedly removed and remountedwithout diminishng the supporting ability of the assembly. In certain ofthe prior art clamping is accomplished by bending or otherwise deformngcertain parts of the supporting device, but this has the disadvantagethat after removing the gutter such -rebending and reclamping of theprior devices is rendered ineflective or impossible. In this inventionthe spring member 40 is readily disengaged as desired and no deformationof parts occurs which would interfere with their proper subsequentperformance. By the aforesaid construction and interaction of parts, thesubject invention ini corporates a safety feature in the form of apositve lock to hold the gutter to the building that is not found -inany of the known prior .art dealing with demountable gutter supportingmechanisms.

Summarizing, in the subject invention, the gutter system is initiallyreadily installed, it is easily removable at will from the building formaintenance, repair or renewal, land once in place is securely held in ayieldably supported fashion regardless of the number of times the gutterhas been removed and reinstalled.

The foregoing description is intended merely as an illustration of thepresently preferred form of the invention. It will readily occur tothose acquainted with the art that minor modifications could beincorporated into the disclosed device and it is intended that the scopeof the following claims cover 'all such modifications.

What I clam Ias new is:

1. A hanger assembly for gutters of buildings wherein said gutters havea front wall and a rear wall, comprising: a mounting plate having alower support socket and 'an upper hook formation and |adapted to besecured to the side of the building; a brace member that has a firstportion that spans the distance between the rear wall and the front wallof the gutter and is adapted to be secured to the walls at itsrespective ends, and a second portion forming 'a support that extendsdownwardly behind the rear wall of the gutter and having a means at itslower end for engaging the support socket of the mounting plate, and ahook formation in the first portion of the brace member near its forwardend; and a resilient tie having its ends adapted to engage respectivelythe hook on the brace member and the hook on the mounting plate, wherebythe brace member -is supported on the mounting plate and carries thegutter while the resilient tie draws the gutter and brace assemblyagainst the mounting plate in fa yieldable fashion.

2. A hanger for gutters as claimed in clam 2 wherein the brace memberhas a third portion, intermediate the first and second portions,provided with a notch which permits said section to clear the upper hookmember in the mounting plate and lie against said plate prior to theengagement of the end of the resilient tie with said l'atter hook andwhereby movement of the third portion past said tie end is subsequentlyprevented until said tie is disengaged from the hook.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,647,476 8/1953' Gibbons248-48.1 X 2,712,915 7/1955 Cohen 248-482 3,053,491 9/ 1962 Ramser 24848.2

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examner.

1. A HANGER ASSEMBLY FOR GUTTERS OF BUILDINGS WHEREIN SAID GUTTERS HAVEA FRONT WALL AND A REAR WALL, COMPRISING: A MOUNTING PLATE HAVING ALOWER SUPPORT SOCKET AND AN UPPER HOOK FORMATION AND ADAPTED TO BESECURED TO THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING; A BRACE MEMBER THAT HAS A FIRSTPORTION THAT SPANS THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE REAR WALL AND THE FRONT WALLOF THE GUTTER AND IS ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO THE WALLS AT ITSRESPECTIVE ENDS, AND A SECOND PORTION FORMING A SUPPORT THAT EXTENDSDOWNWARDLY BEHIND THE REAR WALL END OF THE GUTTER AND HAVING A MEANS ATITS LOWER END FOR ENGAGING THE SUPPORT SOCKET OF THE MOUNTING PLATE, ANDA HOOK FORMATION IN THE FIRST PORTION OF THE BRACE MEMBER NEAR ITSFORWARD END; AND A RESILIENT TIE HAVING ITS END ADAPTED TO ENGAGERESPECTIVELY THE HOOK ON THE BRACE MEMBER IS SUPPORTED ON THE MOUNTINGPLATE, WHEREBY THE BRACE MEMBER IS SUPPORTED ON THE MOUNTING PLATE ANDCARRIES THE GUTTER WHILE THE RESILIENT TIE DRAWS THE GUTTER AND BRACEASSEMBLY AGAINST THE MOUNTING PLATE IN A YIELDABLE FASHION.